UK Stocks-Factors to watch on March 20 (updated)

Luxfer Holdings

20/03/2018 07:51

(Adds company news items and futures)
    March 20 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100  .FTSE  index is seen opening 27
points higher on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers with futures  FFIc1 
up 0.4 percent ahead of the cash market open. 
    * GKN: British engineering company GKN  GKN.L , target of a takeover bid,
said on it had a plan in place to protect its pension scheme, as the issue
emerged as the latest battleground between GKN management and hostile suitor
Melrose  MRON.L .
    * OCADO: British online supermarket Ocado  OCDO.L  on Tuesday reported
quarterly retail revenue growth in line with its latest guidance, though trade
in the final week of the period was dented by wintry weather.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN1R200Q
    * 888 HOLDINGS: British online gaming company 888 Holdings  888.L  posted a
rise in annual core earnings of 12 percent on Tuesday and said its trading so
far this year was in line with its expectations, with average daily revenue 6
percent above the previous year.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN1R117J
    * BELLWAY: British housebuilder Bellway Plc  BWY.L  reported a 16.6 percent
rise in first-half pretax profit on Tuesday as it sold more homes at higher
prices.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1R22VZ
    * ENQUEST: North Sea-focused oil group EnQuest  ENQ.L  reported 2017 core
profit of $303.6 million on Tuesday, slightly beating analysts' expectations as
it embarks on reducing its debt of around $2 billion helped by the ramp-up at
its Kraken field.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1R215N
    * IQE: British chipmaker IQE Plc  IQE.L , whose technology is used in Apple
Inc's  AAPL.O  iPhone, posted an 18 percent rise in full-year pretax profit on
Tuesday on strong sales of wafer, a semiconductor material.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1R22VV
    * BRITAIN-EU: Britain and the European Union agreed on Monday to a
transition period to avoid a "cliff edge" Brexit next year -- though only after
London accepted a potential solution for Northern Ireland's land border that may
face stiff opposition at home.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1R13AW
    * CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA: Britain's data protection authority plans to seek a
warrant to search the offices on Tuesday of London-based political consulting
firm Cambridge Analytica, UK Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham told
Channel 4 News on Monday.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1R1707
    * FENNER: French tyre maker Michelin  MICP.PA  plans to buy British
engineering company Fenner  FENR.L  for 1.2 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) so
that it can serve mining companies better and benefit from an industry recovery.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1R16MD 
    * MICRO FOCUS: FTSE 100 software group Micro Focus  MCRO.L  saw its
470-million-euro term loan B drop over 150 basis points in secondary trading on
Monday, after its shares plunged by more than 40 percent following weaker than
expected results.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1R16A9
    * OIL: Oil prices edged up on Tuesday, lifted by tensions in the Middle
East, although rising output in the United States and shaky stock markets put a
lid on further gains.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1R219Z
    * GOLD: Gold was firm on Tuesday, having recovered from over a two-week low
hit in the previous session, as traders waited to gauge the path of U.S.
monetary policy for the rest of the year from the two-day Federal Reserve
meeting that kicks off later in the day.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1R21TR
    * The UK blue chip index closed 1.7 percent lower at 7,042.93 on Monday,
after Britain and the European Union agreed on a post-Brexit transition which
boosted the sterling but weighed on the internationally exposed index.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1R15YP
    * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets

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 (Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru)
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